Category: 101

I’m in a unique position as a film blogger and critic when it comes to discussing the art of 3D. I worked in stereo conversion (the 3Difycation of 2D movies) for three years as a production coordinator. During that time I talked regularly and in depth (get it?), with some of the best 3D artists in the business. It was my job to know when and why a shot had problems, and help organize the team who could come up with solutions. As always in film production, there was a tight…

This is the fourth and final (for now) week of The Powerwolf’s Beginner’s Guide to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and friends. PART 1 started with Captain America in WWII. PART 2 saw a world of heroes step into the limelight. PART 3 focused on the escalation of conflict now that superheroes have been revealed. PART 4 will take us right up to this year’s Captain America: Civil War. Things have hit a fever pitch. Superweirdos are falling out of the woodwork and the world is more concerned than ever. Something big is building, and for our heroes, things are about to go from bad to worse. You know what that means. More awesome movies for us!

For the past two weeks, The Powerwolf has taken you on a guided tour of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and its related properties. PART 1 brought us all the way to the modern era of heroes, and PART 2 through the first assemblage of The Avengers, and its immediate aftermath. Now that we live in a world defined by superfolk, things have begun to escalate, and these connections are beginning to mean more than ever before.

Last week we began with PART 1 of our Beginner’s Guide the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and its related properties. Marvel Studios’ films have a (nearly) flawless continuity. Their brethren? Not so much. But since the X-Men, pre-MCU Spider-Man, and more are vital members of the Marvel family, they are included in this timeline in a slightly less official capacity. My job, as your guide, will be to detail the nature of entries that might make a little less chronological sense, and let you know which Marvel films are worth watching, why… and, most importantly, in what order to make the most of this sprawling narrative.

Once upon a time, superhero fans were lucky to get a movie or two per decade featuring characters in colorful costumes fighting crime. Even then, most of them were poorly executed – not only as a film, but as representations of everything that their source material stood for. That has changed dramatically, and while we still have the occasional dud, the mythos of superheroes has exploded in a big way – particularly in the pantheon of Marvel Comics heroes.

There is a lot of casual dismissal of film criticism, usually by viewers who disagree with a number they see on Rotten Tomatoes. But like I mentioned in my previous 101, that’s not really how Rotten Tomatoes works. Finding a voice that speaks to a user’s individual sensibilities is just a couple of clicks away, but using a critic to accurately predict which films you’ll naturally like (saving you $15 bucks and a disappointing couple hours) is only half of the usefulness of their profession.